SALEM, VA --- Despite a 13-point lead in the first half, the EMU basketball women barely escaped with a 53-52 win over Shenandoah in the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals. The top-seeded Royals advance to the ODAC semifinals, and will play Guilford Saturday at 1:00pm at the Salem Civic Center.
The fourth-seeded Quakers beat fifth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan 79-57 in their quarterfinal game.
For Eastern Mennonite (22-4), the 53 points were the second-lowest scoring total of the year. It didn't look like a low-scoring game at the start. At the 13:32 mark, Shenandoah (10-17) held a 12-11 lead before the Royals scored on four straight possessions to blow open a 20-12 edge.
Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) canned a three pointer to complete a 16-2 run, putting the lead at 27-14 with 6:07 left in the half. The Hornets suddenly grabbed momentum, and closed the half on a 12-4 streak to trim EMU's lead to 31-26.
The women started well in the second, rebuilding an eight-point edge at 36-28. But the eighth-seeded Hornets wouldn't give up and quickly got back within one point at 39-38. EMU never gave up the lead, but the back-and-forth continued.
With 4:15 left to play, the Royals led 50-42. Back came SU once again, as they scored six unanswered to make it a two-point game with two minutes to go.
Rheinheimer broke EMU's scoring drought with a big layup at the one-minute mark, making it 52-48. The Hornets connected on a pair of free throws and then fouled Rheinheimer with 19.1 seconds left. The sophomore made just a single free throw, leaving it a one-possession game at 53-50.
SU's Holly Chittenden sliced to the hoop for a layup to cut the lead to one with nine seconds left and the Royals turned the ball over after they inbounded. The Hornets looked for a game-winning shot from their own baseline, but Imani Heggins missed a contested outside jumper and Keyla Baltimore's (Bristow, Va./Brentsville District) rebound sealed the win.
The Royals shot just 27.8% from the floor in the second half, but held on to the lead by attempting all 17 of free throws in the final 20 minutes. They made 12-of-17 attempts. Shenandoah had a slight shooting edge in the game, 38% to 37%. SU also had 17 turnovers compared to 12 for EMU.
Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, Pa./Penn Manor) had 18 points to lead all scorers, to go with six rebounds. Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) picked a great time for her first double double of the season, notching 14 points and 11 boards. Rheinheimer finished with eight points.
Crystal Petrus led SU's big three with 15 points. Chittenden came in with 14 and 10, while Heggins added 13 counters.
Eastern Mennonite beat Guilford 72-67 in double overtime in this year's only meeting between the two heavyweights. The Royals have beaten GC six straight times during the regular season, but the Quakers have knocked off EMU the past two years in the ODAC Tournament.
Coach Kevin Griffin talks about moving on in the tournament: